The invention relates to a microfluidic, micro-chemomechanical system with integrated active elements and a method for microfluidic process control in a microfluidic, micro-chemomechanical system.
Microfluidic processors are primarily used today in biological, biochemical and chemical processes; above all their use as “labs on chips” (LOC), “chip laboratories” or “micro-total-analysis systems” (μTAS) is at the focus of scientific developments.
The LOC concept offers diverse advantages. The reduction of fluid volumes makes the analysis of very small sample quantities possible and thrifty use of reagents and samples that are frequently valuable, rare, harmful or dangerous. Higher throughputs are also achievable in that way, because shorter provision, mixing and reaction times are required with minimized energy consumption due to the smaller quantities. The process control can also be relieved of some of its burden because of shorter system response times.
Overall, LOC structures make significant process streamlining possible by considerably reducing the processing time and therefore increasing the possible throughput, as well as reducing the quantities of required resources (test subjects, analytes, reagents and auxiliary resources).